This book takes a broad look at the importance of play for children from birth to three and sets play within the framework of a child's whole development. The book combines theory and practice and is illustrated by many examples from direct observation of children.

This book is packed with fun and exciting activities that enable the child to make sense of the world that they live in and relate it to their own experiences in order to enhance their personal and social development.

Forget the 10,000 hour rule— what if it’s possible to learn the basics of any new skill in 20 hours or less? Take a moment to consider how many things you want to learn to do. What’s on your list? What’s holding you back from getting started? Are you worried about the time and effort it takes to acquire new skills—time you don’t have and effort you can’t spare? Research suggests it takes 10,000 hours to develop a new skill. In this nonstop world when will you ever find that much time and energy? To make matters worse, the early hours of prac­ticing something new are always the most frustrating. That’s why it’s difficult to learn how to speak a new language, play an instrument, hit a golf ball, or shoot great photos. It’s so much easier to watch TV or surf the web . . . In The First 20 Hours, Josh Kaufman offers a systematic approach to rapid skill acquisition— how to learn any new skill as quickly as possible. His method shows you how to deconstruct com­plex skills, maximize productive practice, and remove common learning barriers. By complet­ing just 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice you’ll go from knowing absolutely nothing to performing noticeably well. Kaufman personally field-tested the meth­ods in this book. You’ll have a front row seat as he develops a personal yoga practice, writes his own web-based computer programs, teaches himself to touch type on a nonstandard key­board, explores the oldest and most complex board game in history, picks up the ukulele, and learns how to windsurf. Here are a few of the sim­ple techniques he teaches: Define your target performance level: Fig­ure out what your desired level of skill looks like, what you’re trying to achieve, and what you’ll be able to do when you’re done. The more specific, the better. Deconstruct the skill: Most of the things we think of as skills are actually bundles of smaller subskills. If you break down the subcompo­nents, it’s easier to figure out which ones are most important and practice those first. Eliminate barriers to practice: Removing common distractions and unnecessary effort makes it much easier to sit down and focus on deliberate practice. Create fast feedback loops: Getting accu­rate, real-time information about how well you’re performing during practice makes it much easier to improve. Whether you want to paint a portrait, launch a start-up, fly an airplane, or juggle flaming chain­saws, The First 20 Hours will help you pick up the basics of any skill in record time . . . and have more fun along the way.

Ready to learn not just the hows but also the whys behind the most powerful features of Adobe Premiere Pro? Whether you need to boost your editing skills, composite shots, or fix your audio, you’ll see immediate results when you incorporate these tested and proven techniques from the pros. Adobe Premiere Pro Studio Techniques inspires you to take your work to the next level with real-world examples and insider techniques. In it, you’ll get an in-depth view into Premiere Pro and how it works, cutting through the fat to focus on the most essential features and workflows to help busy professionals perform their jobs faster and smoother. This book goes beyond conventional step-by-step instruction, teaching you the art behind editing video that you can adapt for countless projects. Real solutions from real professionals: Learn from the top trainers and pros who know Premiere Pro in and out and explain the concepts in a clear, easy-to-read format. Editing essentials: No matter how sophisticated your editing projects, they all begin with the same building blocks. Find out what you’ve been missing about Timeline edits, trimming, creating transitions, setting audio levels, color and light matching, keying and matting, working with a variety of video formats, and more. Advanced techniques: You’ll learn best-practice techniques for setting up your system, organizing your projects, editing for single and multicam shots, perfecting the audio mix, fixing problems with color, compositing your shots, exporting your projects, and managing your workflow, including workflows with other Adobe Creative Cloud tools such as SpeedGrade and Audition. Project files provided: Work along with many of the techniques using the provided HD video clips and project files. For access, go to www.peachpit.com/redeem and redeem the unique code provided inside this book. Adobe Premiere Pro Studio Techniques will thrust you deeper into ideas and advanced methods of working with the tools. Along the way you’ll learn a bunch of tricks that make you more proficient in not only the end result, but in the details of getting there; quicker ways to get things done, shortcuts, workflow tips and ways to make your content look better and your flow to be more efficient.–From the Foreword by Jacob Rosenberg, director of Waiting for Lighting and CTO of Bandito Brothers

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK Tired, stressed, and in need of more help from your partner? Imagine running your household (and life!) in a new way... It started with the Sh*t I Do List. Tired of being the “shefault” parent responsible for all aspects of her busy household, Eve Rodsky counted up all the unpaid, invisible work she was doing for her family—and then sent that list to her husband, asking for things to change. His response was...underwhelming. Rodsky realized that simply identifying the issue of unequal labor on the home front wasn't enough: She needed a solution to this universal problem. Her sanity, identity, career, and marriage depended on it. The result is Fair Play: a time- and anxiety-saving system that offers couples a completely new way to divvy up domestic responsibilities. Rodsky interviewed more than five hundred men and women from all walks of life to figure out what the invisible work in a family actually entails and how to get it all done efficiently. With 4 easy-to-follow rules, 100 household tasks, and a series of conversation starters for you and your partner, Fair Play helps you prioritize what's important to your family and who should take the lead on every chore, from laundry to homework to dinner. “Winning” this game means rebalancing your home life, reigniting your relationship with your significant other, and reclaiming your Unicorn Space—the time to develop the skills and passions that keep you interested and interesting. Stop drowning in to-dos and lose some of that invisible workload that's pulling you down. Are you ready to try Fair Play? Let's deal you in.

Want to play beautiful Hawaiian melodies on your 'ukulele? Now you can! Learn to Play Slack Key Style 'Ukulele is a comprehensive instruction into the art of playing great solo 'ukulele…slack key style. Slack Key–Ho `alu–is a melodic, finger-picked guitar style created by Hawaiian paniolo in the mid-19th century, known as “Hawaiian soul music”. It is only natural that some 'ukulele players in Hawaii would re-tune their instruments and play slack key style. Nothing sounds so sweet. No matter if you are a dedicated beginner wanting to expand your playing or an advanced uke-a-banger looking for a new challenge, you will find music to delight your fingers and stimulate your ear. Learn to Play Slack Key Style 'Ukulele is both a course of study and a collection of great solo arrangements that start out easy and increase in difficulty. Includes access to online audio. • Tablature and standard notation • Notes on the tunings, reading music and reading TAB • Guided lessons help you develop your style • Graded arrangements from easy to advanced • Over 30 great arrangements • Learn how to create your own slack key style arrangements of classic Hawaiian songs • Playable on any ‘ukulele with a low G string • Downloadable musical examples of all songs